ITHACA, N.Y. -- Fourteen goals were scored in
three periods, both teams came back from three goals down, and
neither of those facts were the craziest part of Saturday
afternoon's NCAA women's hockey quarterfinal at Lynah Rink.

In what was the longest game in program history – beating out
the 2010 National Championship Game by 25 seconds -- Cornell
defeated Boston University 8-7 with 10 seconds left in overtime
thanks to a one-on-three goal by defenseman Lauriane
Rougeau.

The goal, just her sixth of the season, clinched a trip to the NCAA
Frozen Four in Duluth, Minn., next weekend. Cornell will play No. 2
seed Minnesota in the Frozen Four's early game.

Rougeau's goal came as she picked up the puck in her own defensive
zone, then stepped past one defender as she crossed the blue line.
One more defender got in her way, but with time ticking down in the
overtime period, Rougeau made the play of Cornell's season when she
beat Terriers goalie Kerrin Sperry between the
legs after blowing past that second defender.

“I saw an opening and I went for it,” Rougeau said.
“I knew there wasn't a lot of time left on the clock, and
even though they were three and I was one, I'm just going for it. I
just past her, and it just happened. I was behind the net, I found
out I scored, and I was happy.”

That goal set off a wild celebration, sparking the entire Big Red
bench to empty and eliciting a joyous cheer from the season-high
2,143 fans in attendance. The game, which lasted 119 minutes and 50
seconds, was just 10 seconds shy of being two full games worth of
hockey.

“I'm not sure what to say with a game like that,” coach
Doug Derraugh said. “I played 13 years
professionally, I've been coaching seven years now, and I don't
think I've been involved with a game as crazy as that one, to be
honest.”

The win avenged a 4-1 loss to Boston University in last season's
Frozen Four and also made Cornell 3-0 this season against the
Terriers after defeating them 3-1 and 7-1 on the weekend after
Thanksgiving. Cornell (30-4) now has 30 wins for the second
consecutive year and second time in program history.

The day's first 60 minutes could not have been any different from
the final 60. Boston University got the first three goals of the
game all in the first period, and Cornell caught the Terriers
before the second period was only four minutes old.

It took Boston University just more than five minutes of Saturday's
game to equal the two goals it scored on Cornell in the previous
120. Marie-Philip Poulin, who didn't play in
either game over Thanksgiving break, got things started for the
Terriers just 4:35 into the game when she took a centering pass
from Isabel Menard and finished past Big Red starting goalie
Amanda Mazzotta.

Thirty-four seconds later, a scramble in front of the net left the
puck on Kayla Tutino's stick, and her shot
appeared to be stopped at first but squirted through the legs of
Mazzotta to make it 2-0.

Eleven minutes passed with the Big Red come close to scoring, but
the Terriers got the third goal of the game when Kasey
Boucher buried a passed from Poulin in a play very similar
to the first Boston University goal. Both goals began with outlet
passes from center ice by Tutino.

But with just 45 seconds to go in the period, the Big Red got on
the board. Left wing Jessica Campbell blocked a
Boston University shot, and the puck bounced off her shins to start
a breakaway. Campbell, one of the team's fastest skaters, raced
ahead of two BU players and buried the puck five hole past Sperry,
also drawing a hooking penalty in the process.

Cornell changed goalkeepers after the first period, opting for
sophomore Lauren Slebodnick in place of Mazzotta.
The goalies split time during the season, and Slebodnick had the
country's second-lowest goals against average coming into the game.
She played her role in overtime, and her evening started in the
second period.

Campbell's goal started a massive Big Red comeback. With the
hooking penalty drawn, Cornell began the second period on the power
play. Just 10 seconds into the frame, senior Rebecca
Johnston went to the right side of the goal, went backhand
to forehand and beat a sprawling Sperry to make it 3-2. After a
brief video review, the goal was upheld.

Then, just three and a half minutes later, Johnston struck again.
The captain, in her last game at Lynah Rink, took a pass in front
from Jillian Saulnier and buried, tying the game
for only the first time in the game.

Less than a minute later, Cornell took its first lead. On a delayed
penalty, Johnston kept the puck inside the offensive zone and
lifted it high into the air as Slebodnick left the ice. Catching
the puck was Saulnier, and she went behind the net where she found
Laura Fortino in front. Fortino had a gaping net, and chipped the
puck home to give the home team a 4-3 advantage.

Poulin got the Terriers back into the game at the 15:01 mark of the
second period after a bad Big Red turnover in its own defensive
zone. The turnover was caused by Louise Warren,
who slotted the puck to Poulin for the goal past Slebodnick.

But 67 seconds later, the Big Red was back on top as Jenner scored
her 19th goal of the season. Taking a pass in front from Johnson,
she fed the puck through traffic and Cornell was back on top.
Saulnier earned her fourth assist of the period on that goal.

The third period started even better for Cornell, as Johnston got
her hat trick goal. Stealing the puck from the Terriers right in
front of their net, Johnston turned and fired past Sperry for her
third of the game. A solitary hat came onto the ice as the home
crowd roared and Cornell had a 6-4 lead.

Six minutes after that, Jenner made it 7-4 when Amanda
Young took a shot at the right point and it was blocked by
a Terriers player. The bounce went right to Jenner, who shot it too
hard for Sperry to stop. The puck bounced off the goal and in, and
the Big Red's lead was three with just under 14 minutes to go.

Then the whistles started coming. Boston University got three power
play opportunities in the final 11 minutes of the third period and
converted on all of them, deflating the home crowd to send the game
to overtime.

The first overtime saw one penalty called on each team, but neither
was able to convert. Boston University held a 14-9 advantage in
shots on goal in the period, but the teams each attempted 24 shots
total.

The second overtime came and went as well, passing the 98-minute
mark set by the men's hockey team less than 24 hours earlier and
making this contest the longest in Lynah Rink history. Cornell was
outshot 6-5 in the second overtime, but again the goalies stood
their ground.

A Fortino shot from the blue line appeared to come close to going
in, and play was stopped to review the shot, but the referees'
decision of no goal was upheld. Late in the period, Slebodnick made
a season-saving stop on an Isabel Menard breakaway.

That set the stage for a dramatic third overtime, where Cornell hit
the post four times and had two failed power play opportunities
before Rougeau's thrilling game-winner.

Johnston finished the evening with three goals and an assist while
Saulnier had four assists. Jenner had two goals and an assist while
Alyssa Gagliardi also had two assists.

The 15 goals scored in the game were the most of any Big Red game
this season and the most since an 11-4 loss to Brown on Nov. 20,
1993. By itself, though, Cornell had scored more than eight goals
three times this season.

Cornell remains perfect in games after a loss (4-0), holds an
out-of-conference record of 10-2 and is once again.500 all time
with a lifetime record of 451-451-50.

The Big Red now prepares for Minnesota. The Gophers defeated North
Dakota 5-1 in another quarterfinal on Saturday. Cornell and
Minnesota will play in the Frozen Four's first game at 6 p.m on
Friday.